ERS-SAR Application 10

Protection of mangrove forests and coastal erosion

APPLICATION AREA               GEOGRAPHIC ZONE (EXAMPLE)               CLIMATIC ZONE

Coastal areas,                 Gabon, Nigeria                         Tropical region
sedimentology, forestry

ECONOMIC VALUE
The coastal zones of Gabon and Nigeria are currently being eroded by about 10 m per year. The mangrove forests are the most important protection against coastal erosion. This material, washed out from the coasts, forms sediments along shipping routes which have to be dredged more and more often in order to maintain the possibility of exporting the oil.

Monitoring of the mangrove forests and an understanding of the coastal sediment transport patterns are therefore necessary in order to control the sedimentation process and dredging efforts. The coastal erosion itself might have a negative influence on specific areas.

ENVIRONMENTAL VALUE
The destruction of the mangrove forests can be considered as very negative for the coastal environment.

POLITICAL VALUE
Knowledge and monitoring of the mangrove forest size can be seen as vital for potential investors or donor countries in order to ensure the exportation of goods produced in the country.

TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY
The technical feasibility of using ERS-SAR data as the unique source of information for identifying mangrove forests could be established. Further data on sediment transport patterns can only be obtained through direct measurements (bathymetry, etc.).

RELIABLE PROCESSING METHODS
Current techniques are mainly based on the visual interpretation of enhanced (filtered) data. Automatic classification techniques are under development.